What Are the Pros and Cons of Relocating to Las Vegas?

Do the pros outweigh the cons of moving to Las Vegas? Or are the cons more prevalent?

In our view, and in a nutshell, the number of attributes that recommend relocating to Las Vegas include: a favorable tax climate (no state income tax, no personal city or county taxes); excellent fall, winter, and spring weather (mild temperatures and rare snowfall); a comparatively low cost of living (though it continually rises as Las Vegas becomes a more popular destination for new residents) and plentiful places to live (Vegas is overbuilt, albeit less so than in years past); crime in mostly out-of-the-way areas; and dining (particularly loss leaders) and entertainment options, especially nightlife.

The elements that argue against include: a car is a necessity to negotiate the sprawl (public transportation isn't great); car insurance is relatively expensive; more drunk drivers than average (the booze is often free); unless you're a professional, employment can be hard- to-find, low-paying, and short-term; the summer heat is extreme; the potential of problem gambling is always there (especially if you tend toward compulsive behavior or simply don't have other interests and social outlets to occupy you); lower taxes mean fewer social services; health care, though improving, is still lacking compared to other cities of the same size; the water is extremely hard, requiring filtering; cultural events, though improving, are still limited; the homeless situation is serious; and the transience makes it difficult to make and keep friends.

Given all the foregoing, it's not an easy decision. Many people relocate to Las Vegas to escape their pasts, but then the question becomes, where do you relocate to escape Las Vegas?

We would emphasize that living here is not for the faint of heart or infirm of constitution.

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Comments

Jackie Jun-22-2023

Of course when you say Las Vegas

Do you mean Summerlin, Henderson, Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise, North Las Vegas, Sunrise, Whitney, Winchester, or Boulder City.

These are commute cities to and from Las Vegas daily; Mountain Springs, Pahrump, Jean, Primm, and Indian Springs.

One of the cons not mentioned are the Clark County property taxes per month are often higher than the mortgage payment.  So if you are planning on buying a home here make sure you find out the total payment of mortgage plus taxes.  This is why many eventually move to the cities in other counties and commute, unless you are retired and don't need to commute.

Kevin Lewis Jun-22-2023

Impressed with the answer

Summarized just about all of the positives and negatives. I would only add: almost everyone is from somewhere else. And almost everyone is planning to roar into town, make their stash, and then roar back out after a couple of years (though many get trapped like woolly mammoths in tar pits). Result: no sense of community; no civic pride; lukewarm support at best for the things that make a city livable. I've never seen a large city so lacking in basic amenities. So much of the city's fiscal and political energy goes toward optimizing things for the casinos, there's not much left for everyone else.

O2bnVegas Jun-22-2023

honeymoon effect

Our first visit or two (1980s) felt like utopia.  Fun, fun, fun all day.  Why not move here?  Thankfully, sanity set in, especially the fear of how to fund/expense what was so attractive: "casino time" any time!  Why have to bother with airline schedules, packing and unpacking, etc.?

Reality:  Disneyland every day?  No way.  Much more fun (and affordable) to visit now and then.  And more than likely would not be living in a hotel that treated us like royalty, room service, housekeeping, etc.  LOL.

Candy

Walter Suttle Jun-22-2023

Moving to LV or suburbs

Great answer, good responses.  When considering the possibility, wife said hell no. Too damn hot in summer. 
Based on your answer, more realistic issues would prevent us from moving. 
With nonstop flights, 2 hours away is close enough.

Frank Mabry Jun-22-2023

Lots of things to do

Henderson is is a safe place to live with lots of parks. The valley is less than a days travel to a lot of national parks. Real-estate taxes are far less than Illinois. I can walk my dog without getting eaten alive by mosquitos. Lots of sun!

Jetpilotrick Jun-22-2023

Disappointed

Moved here seven years ago.  Have become more and more disenchanted with living here.  Prices rising due to all the people moving here.  Finding this city does not do much for the people that live here.  It’s all about the casinos and the visitors. Health care is awful. Not enough to go around.  Call to make appt, maybe 1 - 2 months out.  Water situation is getting dire.  But, nobody addresses it.  Crime seems to be rampant more and more and moving to the quieter suburbs.  Was better to just come for a visit.  Everything on the Strip getting extremely expensive now.  It’s all about the casinos now.  The people that live here are left out. Our senators/representatives do what’s best for the casinos and to bring in money for the city.  The people of Las Vegas don’t see any of that.  I would never move here again. Would love if I could but, entire family here now.

Sandra Ritter Jun-22-2023

Frank Mabry

Being in Illinois, paying Cook county RE taxes, I was wondering what Jackie was referring to regarding Clark county RE taxes.  I'm guessing they don't come close to ours. Sounds like you concur.

jay Jun-22-2023

Problem Gambling

Gambling in Nevada is obviously rampant everywhere, can't go to an Albertsons or a Gas Station without seeing a slot. Its not just Vegas.

Not withstanding there are very few states and no Canadian provinces that don't have gambling. Most bars in Canada have VLT's (Video Lottery terminals) - fancy name for a GameKing, GameMaker or the like. 

If your a problem gambler you will find a place to gamble be it someone's basement, the back room at a late night restaurant or what side of a glass a fly will land regardless of where you are in the world.

If your a problem gambler - I would suggest you get a job dealing and keep you on the right side of the table.

Jeff Jun-22-2023

Great QoD

I agree with the other commenters. This was an excellent answer to a frequently asked question.

I think the commenter who regrets having moved to Vegas has a lot of company. (I feel very badly about what he wrote with such honesty.) I have heard this from way too many people over the years. Just as in casino marketing, Las Vegas itself fails to live up to its hype.

"Where do you go to relocate to escape Las Vegas?"

You can't even go TO Las Vegas anymore to escape your past. The information about every person's entire life that is now stored on computer databases that are easily retrievable by anyone ends one's ability to start a new life, even in Vegas.

LynGHS Jun-22-2023

Love It or Hate It

I moved to LV in 2009 and left last year; my plan was to never move, but the desire to live near grand-babies changed that plan. When I lived there, I found people either hated or loved living there (very few on the fence). I miss it like crazy! 
The money I now "save" by not gambling several times a week goes right to taxes and the higher COL in the Midwest. Property taxes are more than double, auto insurance is triple and the general COL is higher (the ONLY thing cheaper here is gas). Wages are about 25% lower to boot in the Midwest - a double whammy!
There ARE some very good doctors in LV, but you have to do your research to find them; hospitals are deplorable (when I needed surgery I went out-of-state).
We were on track to be able to retire very comfortably at 62 in LV... we will very likely have to work until at least 67 here to just survive. I knew we had it good there - didn't realize how good until it was gone. The grand-babies make it all worth it.

Ray Jun-22-2023

another take on it

In the late 80's my parents moved to Vegas when Dad retired. They had spent the last year of his working by using vacation time to scout out all the possible retirement places. The only thing that concerned them was being so far away from their grandchildren, but we assured them we would come out to visit at least once a year. Mom always found things for us to do with the kids in the daytime and we did a little casino playing at night. They loved it all the way until Dad passed away in 2004. They never regretted it. Like any other place, Vegas is what you make of it. You can always find things to be happy about and also things to be unhappy about. Figure out your priorities and decide from that.

Jon Anderson Jun-22-2023

living in vegas

the grass is always greener on the other side unless you compare it to sand and lots of it...or artificial grass...or rocks...i did like ray's comment re it's what you make of it...if you're happy and you know it clap your hands...life ain't no picnic anywhere on this planet so keep a good thought and keep on keepin' on...congrats to the golden knights...

Kevin Rough Jun-22-2023

Taxes

I am always surprised when someone says low taxes.  While there is no state or local income taxes, the sales tax of 8.38% is kind of high (I've lived in 4 states and have never had a local sales tax of over 6%).  And the taxes involved to register a car are ridiculous.  In Pennsylvania it costs $36 per year to register a car.  It would cost me nearly $200 to register that car in Clark County.

asaidi Jun-22-2023

All the music acts stop in Las Vegas.

Another perk about living in Las Vegas is that almost every music tour comes to Las Vegas.  Unlike other cities (except for the major cities like Los Angeles), There is almost always 1 or 2 shows somewhere in Las Vegas for any band on tour - older bands play smaller venues and the major bands play at the arenas.  There's even some exclusive shows like Adele at Caesars and U2 at the MSG Sphere this fall.

Question of the Day - 22 June 2023

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